Letters to the Editor, Feb. 6

PACE Academy focuses on students' academic growth, emotional development, and professional readiness. The athletic talent of some of our students is undeniable. Whether he is a Special Olympics champion or a nationally ranked basketball player, PACE is proud of his achievement.

With that said, PACE Academy has no relationship or sponsorship with Bull City Prep. The elite-caliber athletes do not participate in PACE Academy athletics; they participate on the Bull City Prep and other AAU teams, outside of school, in order to enhance their athletic skill development and maintain a rigorous schedule against comparable athletes. Their families have enrolled them at PACE Academy because they know they will receive the same academic instruction and opportunities for growth that is afforded to every other student at PACE. The students who are players for Bull City Prep are able to focus on academic development at PACE Academy because no one is pressuring them about sports, According to the players, this is markedly different than their experience in other schools across North Carolina.

PACE received an inquiry from the Office of Charter Schools. In PACE's response sent Jan. 31 to NCDPI, we reiterated that PACE Academy: 1) Has no involvement, relationship, financial arrangement or sponsorship with BCP; 2) does not recruit any athletes to attend PACE; 3) follows the same enrollment procedures as with any other student; 4) does not feed or house any players; 5) does not participate in the NC High School Athletic Association.

Rhonda Franklin

Principal, PACE Academy

Dangerous message on marijuana

The cartoon on the Opinion page of The Herald-Sun Jan. 28 about deaths relating to alcohol, cigarettes and marijuana presents a one-sided and dangerous message to us all and particularly to our youth.

The Internet netted numerous studies on the dangers of marijuana, especially when started at an early age.

“An Australian study found that prolonged use of cannabis or marijuana by young adults was linked …to the risk of developing psychosis among these users was more than double that of never users. [italics added]”

Article title: “Pot Use in Teen Years May Lower IQ, Study Shows”

“Frequent, continued use of marijuana starting before age 18 was associated with an eight-point decline in IQ in the study”

Article title: “On The Road to Drug Abuse”

“Because a tolerance builds up, marijuana can lead users to consume stronger drugs to achieve the same high…

“The vast majority of cocaine users (99.9%) began by first using a “gateway drug: like marijuana [italics added], cigarettes, or alcohol…”

I think by printing cartoons such as that we may be sending inaccurate and dangerous messages to our youth -- the future of our country.